The Red Badge of Courage

Chapter I.

The cold passed reluctantly from the earth, and the retiring fogs revealed anarmy stretched out on the hills, resting. As the landscape changed from brownto green, the army awakened, and began to tremble with eagerness at the noiseof rumors. It cast its eyes upon the roads, which were growing from longtroughs of liquid mud to proper thoroughfares. A river, amber-tinted in theshadow of its banks, purled at the army’s feet; and at night, when thestream had become of a sorrowful blackness, one could see across it the red,eyelike gleam of hostile camp-fires set in the low brows of distant hills.

Once a certain tall soldier developed virtues and went resolutely to wash ashirt. He came flying back from a brook waving his garment bannerlike. He wasswelled with a tale he had heard from a reliable friend, who had heard it froma truthful cavalryman, who had heard it from his trustworthy brother, one ofthe orderlies at division headquarters. He adopted the important air of aherald in red and gold.

“We’re goin’ t’ move t’morrah—sure,”he said pompously to a group in the company street. “We’regoin’ ’way up the river, cut across, an’ come around inbehint ’em.”

To his attentive audience he drew a loud and elaborate plan of a very brilliantcampaign. When he had finished, the blue-clothed men scattered into smallarguing groups between the rows of squat brown huts. A negro teamster who hadbeen dancing upon a cracker box with the hilarious encouragement of twoscoresoldiers was deserted. He sat mournfully down. Smoke dri

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